LeMond said it was about time the Boy Scouts of America gave the green light for girls to take part in its programs.

Troop officials said Wells joined Cub Scouts in September 2006 at age 6. Then there's the argument that Girl Scouts needs to offer more than arts and crafts and cookie sales. "What happened yesterday is that we have another new competitor". Putting in the hard work to make a difference in your community as part of a girl-centered organization just isn't enough.

"The Girl Scouts of Greater South Texas remains committed to and believes strongly in the all-girl, girl-led, and girl-friendly environment that Girl Scouts provides, creating a necessary safe space for girls to learn and thrive".

For Sydney, the outdoor experiences and the leadership training are what set the Boy Scouts apart from other organizations, and while the program for girls is not expected to begin until 2019, Sydney has already submitted her application - in fact, she submitted it in May, her father said. The values of Scouting - trustworthy, loyal, helpful, kind, courageous and reverent, for example - are important for both young men and women.

The Girl Scouts learned back in January that the Boy Scouts were considering opening their ranks to girls, Margosian said. It's about what we convey to young women about their achievements and the context in which they pursue them - that they are less valuable, simply because they weren't designed by men. "Given our history, as a courtesy, they could have let us know".

This may have been news to the Girl Scouts, whose Brownie and Junior programs cater to girls who are about the age of Cub Scouts.

It appears the Boy Scouts are trying to walk a very fine line here by allowing girls to join but without placing them in many situations where they will interact with boys. Ninety-percent of USA female astronauts, 80 percent of US female tech leaders, 75 percent of USA female Senators, and more than half of all US female business owners are part of the Girl Scout sisterhood. In doing so, the girls realize that they are able to have a seat at the table, or even at the head of the table and are thereby more confident, self-assured, and ready to compete in the real world.

"This is not about a decline in membership", said Kate Jacobs, spokeswoman for the Pathway to Adventure Council, which oversees Boy Scout activities in the Chicago area and northwest Indiana.

The Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana boasts almost nearly 53,000 youth members this year, though the chapter has seen a decline from more than 69,000 girls enrolled in 2013, a trend Payton said has been seen across most youth service organizations in recent years. The Boy Scouts organization says current youth participation is about 2.35 million, down from 2.6 million in 2013 and off more than 4 million from peak years. And there have been deep rifts between leadership and grassroots members over the direction of programming and efforts by many councils to sell summer camps.

To start, it's worth noting that this move is a commentary on what a bad organization the Girl Scouts has become.

If your only regular contact with Girl Scouts involves the boxes of Thin Mints stashed in your freezer, then you may not realize all the valuable opportunities the organization offers girls starting as early as kindergarten.

"The Boy Scouts' house is on fire", Garcia wrote in the Huffington Post. For older girls, existing coed Boy Scout programs can and do help address those shortfalls.

Besides being scout leaders for Troop 14, Juliet LeMond and Lauren Pulley both have sons in the Boy Scouts. "Other countries do not have "Boy" Scouts, they just have scouts. I'm open to it, I'm inviting, I'm looking forward to it actually", says Newman. "Rather than fundamentally transform BSA into a coed program, Boy Scouts should work to ensure that it expands the scope of its program to all boys, including those whom BSA has historically underserved and underrepresented, such as African American and Latino boys".

Mixed feelings also were expressed by the president of the National Organization for Women, Toni Van Pelt.

You won't find the CEO of The Girl Scouts of CT cheering the Boy Scouts decision to allow girls. Currently, the Boy Scouts have 2.3 million members, versus the Girl Scouts' 1.8 million. Over the years, the programming has also been reimagined to fit scouts' needs.

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